Report on Panel Discussion : 19th September 2006

Dear Friends;

On September 19th 2006 the recently formed organisation called the Bahamian Friends of the Cuban Five held a panel discussion at the College of the Bahamas titled " A Question of Justice."

The group promised that they would continue to inform the public of the injustice surrounding the issue of the Cuba Five despite the anti- Cuba propoganda in the media and that for them the issue was not one of "Anti-americanism" but instead it was a "Question of Justice".

The panel discussion was held in front of a small group of interested students from the College of the Bahamas. The panel consisted of four members of the Bahamian Friends of the Cuban Five; Mr. Felix Bethel, Mr. "Bumpy" Watkins, Mr. Tamico Gilbert and Mr. Dion Hanna.

Mr. Felix Bethel, a popular and long standing lecturer at the College of the Bahamas played the role of the moderator for the panel discussion. In Mr. Bethel's opening address he reminded the audience in attendance that since its very beginning the Cuban Revolution has been under attack in the form of an economic embargo and terrorism. He also stated that the Bahamas has always tried to maintain good diplomatic relations with its "neighbour"; Cuba.

Mr. Bumpy Watkins then took the podium and spoke in regards to the history of terrorist attacks that Cuba has had to deal with over the last forty years. In his remarks he mentioned terrorist groups in the US who have been attacking the sovereignty of the Cuban nation; groups like Alpha 66 and Brothers to the Rescue.

Mr. Tamico Gilbert, who is also a member of Amnesty International, stated that groups like Amnesty International and the United Nations working body on arbitrary detention had also written about the injustices surrounding the case of the Cuban Five. Mr. Gilbert urged all the students in attendance to read about the Cuban Revolution for themselves and that they could make up their minds about how Cuba should be viewed. Mr. Gilbert also mentioned that the issue of the Cuban Five was an international human rights issue and that: "the war on terrorism did not just start on September 11th." Mr. Gilbert reminded the audience about the 1976 bombing of a Cubana airplane over Barbados that killed 73 persons. He closed his presentation by reading an English translation of a letter written to supporters of the Cuban Five by Gerardo Hernandez, one of the five.

The last panel speaker for the night was Mr. Dion Hanna, a prominent lawyer, who spoke about the fact that oppressed peoples have always viewed the world through an "inverted looking glass". Mr. Hanna emphasised the importance of oppressed people viewing the world through their own eyes and experience and that the issue of the Cuban Five was about the right to life.

All members of the panel resolved that they would continue to bring the issue of the Cuban Five to the Bahamian people with all the facts surrounding the case so that all persons could make up their own minds about the issue. The group promised to push on with their efforts despite any media backlash.

Yours Sincerley

Bahamian Friends of the Cuban Five

The Cuban S.A. Travesty of Justice: An Essay by E.W.I. Watkins

THE CUBAN S.A. TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE
By: E. W. I. Watkins, BSc, J.P.


As a student of the University of Havana at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, a young, eager and energetic Fidel Castro must have been appalled at the corrupt and immoral state of his beloved Cuba under the American supported dictatorship of Fulgencio Baptista, and being the nationalist that he (Castro) is, he decided that not only was it bad for his people, but that something had to be done about it. This began the idea of a revolution that was coaxed and nurtured into fruition, culminating with an astounding victory on January 1, 1959. This bold and gigantic initiative by a young Nationalist, must have been a horrific blow to the inflated ego of the U.S. Government and a devastating death knell to the murdering corrupt protégé (Baptista) not being able to accept defeat and embarrassment, the Government of the USA took a conscious decision to bring the fledgling revolutionary government of Fidel Castro tumbling down around his ears; but for 47 years, this has proven to be a mission impossible.
A sustained economic embargo has not only failed to achieve its expected goal, but was directly responsible for his (Castro’s) success in building his small island nation into a state of self sufficiency, eradicating and eliminating his people’s illiteracy and creating a system of health care that is a model for the region. This renowned leader who uniquely enjoys the role of the world’s longest ruling head of government, one who has survived 638 assassination attempts and outlasts nine U.S. Presidents, can indeed be termed a man for all seasons. His tenure has not only been successful and fantastic, but seems to have more than a touch of divine intervention. Bombings, assassinations, sabotage and terrorist attacks all committed with the approval and blessings of the U.S. Government, by trained terrorists, have failed to bring down or destabilize the Revolutionary Government of this great leader (Fidel Castro).

Some years ago, five young Cuban patriot working for their country to uncover terrorist plots by American based and trained terrorists in Miami, uncovered information on proposed plots against their homeland (Cuba). This information was turned over to the relevant U.S. authorities by a cooperative Cuban Government, who was assured by the U.S. Officials of action being taken against the culprits; but the Americans did the reverse by arresting the anti-terrorist group of loyal and patriotic Cubans who had uncovered the plot. They were charged with BOGUS criminal offences, tried in a hostile environment in kangaroo fashion in a ‘Jim Crow’ setting – convicted and given terms of four (4) life sentences and seventy-five years. This sentence was later overturned by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta, Georgia. But this verdict was not only ignored, but disregarded by the relevant state authorities in Florida, and these 5 gallant, loyal and dedicated Nationalists are still languishing in Federal Prisons in various parts of Jim Crow America.

With Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq, the American-backed Israeli slaughter of innocent civilians, women, children and senior citizens in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, plus the unlawful detention and inhumane treatment of the Cuban Five, America has abrogated the right to even think of speaking to any other nation on the face of this earth about human rights or anything pertaining to it. The rape of a young Iraqi girl and the murder of her immediate family by American servicemen and the refusal of the US Government to have them prosecuted in Iraq, where this terrible atrocity was committed against citizens of Iraq, is to say the least, dictatorial, unfair and illegitimate, yet if a citizen of another country is suspected of facilitating the export of drugs to the US, who has not only a ready, but willing market for such substance, the US would spend millions over a number of years to get that person extradited to the US for a ‘Jim Crow’ trial – even if they have to use intimidating and threatening tactics to achieve their aim.

Over the years, the true meaning and intentions of the American Constitution as laid down by the Founding Fathers, has lost their identity and meaning, having been replaced with the interpretation applied by modern-day politicians and control freaks. But under the Administration of one George Bush, America has sunk to an all-time low in human degradation, blatant injustice, corruption, human rights abuse, genocide with the most destructive, arrogant and abusive foreign policy practiced by any nation of this world, inclusive of Nazi Germany in the first half of the 20th Century.

The Administration of George Bush can reverse the course of its destructive and arrogant Foreign policy by an immediate purging of itself, making amends at home and worldwide, release those unjustly, illegally and unfairly incarcerated and return to the true meaning and intention of the Constitution of that once great and God-fearing nation, the U.S.A.